The Power of Porn

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The Power of Porn

As goes pornography, so goes technology. Pornography customers have been some of the first to buy home video machines, DVD players and subscribe to high-speed internet. One of the next big issues in which pornographers could play a deciding role is the future of high-definition DVDs.

The multi-billion-dollar industry releases about 11,000 titles on DVD each year, giving it tremendous power to sway the battle between two groups of studios and technology companies competing to set standards for the next generation.

One side of the divide is a standard called Blu-ray, backed by consumer electronics heavyweights like Sony (SNE), Philips Electronics (PHG) and movie studios Fox and Disney. Blu-ray offers storage up to 50 gigabytes, enough for nine hours of high-definition content.

On the other side of the fight is HD-DVD, which has much the same structure as current DVDs and, backers say, is cheaper and easier to manufacture as a result. Supporters of the disc format and its 30 gigabyte capacity include companies like NEC (NIPNY) and Toshiba (TOSBF).

Pornographers weighed in on the coming battle last week at the industry's Adult Entertainment Expo, which ran parallel with the largest U.S. technology fair, the Consumer Electronics Show, and had many of the same technologies – sometimes a generation ahead. Smaller outfits seem to prefer HD-DVD for its lower cost, while larger outfits tend toward Blu-ray for the capacity.

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Consolidating cell companies: Alltel, the sixth biggest U.S. cellular carrier, has agreed to buy Western Wireless, a Northwest regional carrier which owns the Cellular One brand, for about $4.4 billion in cash and stock.

The deal would make Alltel (AT) the No. 5 U.S. wireless carrier with about $10 billion in overall revenue and coverage of a vast share of the rural United States with 10 million wireless customers in 33 states.

Alltel is also assuming about $1.5 billion in debt in the deal, which is subject to approval by Western Wireless (WWCA) shareholders and regulators. The deal marks the latest consolidation in the wireless phone service industry where prices are constantly dropping.

Last month, Sprint (FON) agreed to buy Nextel (NXTL), the fifth biggest U.S. wireless provider, for $35 billion in a deal that would fortify Sprint's position as the nation's third largest wireless service provider behind Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless (VZ).

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Gas is still in: Never mind the fuel-sipping, gas-electric hybrid vehicles. Detroit wants to send power to the people.

Judging from last year's runaway success of the V-8-powered Chrysler 300C sedan and General Motors' (GM) plans to roll out several high-performance models this year, Detroit's Big Three think Americans still want cars with big engines.

While Japanese automakers Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) have won the hearts of environmentalists with their hybrids, GM believes its V-8s will win over American wallets.

Hybrid sales in the United States are growing quickly. But with gasoline prices receding from record highs, roomy cars with big engines remain popular. A group of automotive critics named the Chrysler 300 the North American car of the year, a year after the Toyota Prius – a gas-electric hybrid that gets up to 55 miles per gallon – took the honors.

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Who you gonna call?: Comcast, the nation's largest cable television company, plans to challenge local phone companies by offering internet-based phone service in 20 markets this year.

Comcast (CMCSA) plans to offer its Digital Voice technology to all of its markets by 2006. Company officials said they expect to be serving about 20 percent of phone customers in those markets within five years. The service costs $40 a month for existing Comcast broadband customers for unlimited local and domestic calls. It also includes caller ID, voice mail and call waiting.

To compete, Verizon (VZ) offered a service called Voice Wing for $35 a month, with a discount of $10 a month for one year to customers who currently use its DSL service for high-speed internet connections via phone lines.

Comcast spokesmen acknowledged that the company will have significant competition, but noted that Comcast is offering some features that its competitors aren't. For example, Verizon and Vonage don't promise that the phone service will work during a power failure, but Comcast provides a 16-hour battery backup.